


Screw up.

by orphan_account



Series: Homeless Twins AU [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Canon Divergence, Gen, Homeless Twins AU, Hurt/Comfort, Mullet Grunkle Stan, Stangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-15 01:39:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14781188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Ford shouldn’t have stood up for him, he shouldn’t have confronted Pa and he definitely shouldn’t have been thrown out because of Stan; but he had. Now they were sat, two silent and homeless New Jersey boys. Not only had Stan destroyed his brother’s dreams, he’d wrenched him from his family and forced him to live out of a car with the person who’d caused it. Dad was right, Stan really was a screw up.What if Ford hadn’t drawn the curtain?What if he had stood up to Fillbrick?What if he’d gotten kicked out too?





	Screw up.

The lone 1968 Diablo sat still, half hazardly parked in an empty car park overlooking it’s previous hometown. Stanley stared sadly at his brother’s hunched form from the drivers seat. Ford lay down across the backseats glaring at the fabric, outright refusing to acknowledge that there was anyone else in the vehicle. They both knew neither were asleep but did nothing to try and break the thick silence. Stan felt a familiar knotting sensation in his stomach. It was the same feeling he got when Ma burnt herself with cigarettes. It was the same feeling he got when Crampelter and his cronies had cornered him. Pa had always ignored the bruises. It was the same feeling he got when he saw Ford being shoved down the steps of their house too. It was fear.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Ford shouldn’t have stood up for him, he shouldn’t have confronted Pa and he definitely shouldn’t have been thrown out because of Stan; but he had. Now they were sat, two silent and homeless New Jersey boys. Not only had Stan destroyed his brother’s dreams, he’d wrenched him from his family and forced him to live out of a car with the person who’d caused it all. Dad was right, Stan really was a screw up.

~~~~~

The town looked a little less daunting as the sun rose, almost manageable. Ford was now shotgun, looking out at the view below. Stan didn’t remember him crawling over, he must’ve dozed off. There was a rustling as his brother rooted through the off white duffel bag. Stan cleared his throat, “So, um...what we got?”

”$50, your red hoodie and a couple changes of clothes.” They we’re talking, that’s progress. He could work with that. Stan opened his mouth but opted to close it, trying to gather his thoughts. “Look, Sixer I... Words aren’t my strong point” he began. “I just. We really need to stick together ok? I didn’t mean to drag you into this and I-I’m just a big knucklehead,” Stan sent a nervous chuckle, glancing at his brother, but was met with silence. He shifted uncomfortably, “We’re gonna figure this out together y’know. You and me against the world right? With your brains and my... people skills, we can make millions!” More silence. He shifted uncomfortably. “Look Ford I get your mad but now’s not the time. You gotta talk to me.” He huffed, tone clipped. Something hot bubbled in his gut and Stan thumped the dashboard. “Goddammit Ford I’m sorry! Please, just  _talk to me_!”

And suddenly there was crying. Hunched shoulders shook and a pattern of wet drops quickly darkened Ford’s jeans. Stan’s anger quickly melted and he reached for his brother, guilt now settling in his stomach. Stanford looked up, his eyes were glossy and puffed through his lenses. “How are we gonna do this Stan? How are we gonna survive? We’re two small town boys with fifty buck who haven’t even graduated high school!” His voice rose, cracking a little. “Oh my god Stan, dad was planning to kick you out all along. He’d literally had this bag packed for  _months_. This was just an excuse. I can’t believe this. It’s so fucked up...”

Stan just pulled his brother in for a hug, not caring if there was a steadily growing wet patch on his shirt. His eyes stung, it wasn’t tears, Pa hadn’t cleaned the car in ages so there was probably a ton of dust. Yeah, that was it.

~~~~~

They’d decided to get jobs, if they wanted to sleep somewhere other then the back seat of their car then they needed money. After a breakfast of coffee, and to Stan’s dismay, the dirt cheapest pastry they could find; the twins were on their way.

”No Stanley, just no. We are  _not_ buying a metal detector!”

“Oh come on poindexter, it’s right there!” Stan urged, pressing his face to the shop window. Ford rolled his eyes, “Jesus, are you a child?”

”Yes, I’m a seven year old in seventeen year old’s body. Now let’s get it!” Ford almost laughed at the childlike wonder but gave an uninterested look. “Stan. We can’t spend out forty something dollars on a metal detector.” The puppy eyes came out. “ _Treasure hunting_?”

”Ok, hypothetically, lets say we got the metal detector. What then?” Ford could humor him, then prove how wrong he really is.

”We scan the beach. I’m sure people drop all kind of fancy stuff there. Plus I’m pretty sure cowboys used to sive that shit and find  _gold_. We’ll be set for life!” Ford sighed. If only it was that simple. He kind of felt like a parent, god knows how Stanley would’ve survived without him. “Gold is a  _rare_ metal, why’d you think jewellery’s so expensive? Besides we don’t have any money to fall back on. If we brought this and it didn’t work, we’d have nothing.” 

Stan huffed. “ _Fine_.” He kicked a stone as they carried on down the street. “but as soon as we get rich we’re buying a yacht and I’ll scan the shit out of all our private islands we’ll own.” A ghost of a smile twitched on Ford’s lips, “Yeah. Maybe bro,” he knew the reality of that was slim at best, but it was a nice thought to distract themselves from the gravity of their situation.

Stan wandered along Glass Shard beach, sand shifting between his bare feet. It reminded him of thise summers all those years ago. It was nice. Ford and decided to try out for a job at the museum, or was it the library? Either way it was way too stuffy and he was pretty sure the receptionist was as sick of it as he was. She had that creepy dead eyed stare. He’d tried out at the Taffy shack but even Stan had standards. In the end they’d decided to meet at the boardwalk in an hour. Suddenly something caught his eye, an obnoxious billboard. Huh, sales was basically acting right? He could do that. He’d had plenty of practice when cheering up Ford, or the fake bravado against Crampelter. The auditions were today and he still had a while.

New Jersy, meet Steve Pinington.

**Author's Note:**

> Ack! Shorter then I would’ve liked. I’m thinking of making this a series of one shots throughout Stan & Ford’s years on the streets.
> 
> Just an idea I thought of. Please tell me if there’s already an AU like this and I’ll credit the creator.


End file.
